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PVCedgebanding

Over the last decades, the development of plastic materials compared to other edge-banding materials for melamine boards, have acquired a great popularity.

Presently, two options are available: PVC and ABS.

We mainly stock PVC, and ABS is produced on request.

PVC (polyvinylchloride) is a widely used plastic material in numerous fields, being one of them the furniture industry.

Its characteristics makes it a most valuable prime material for the production of edge-bands .

With a stock of over 2.500 references we, at Cantisa, can match the majority of melamine boards presently on the market .

In ourEdge-band finder, you will, within seconds, have at your disposal the PVC reference required for the melamine board you need.

At CANTISA a highly qualified staff is always updating our PVC stock to the new melamine Collectionson the market, enabling you to dispose of the adequate edge-band matching your new melamine board upon request.

Our samples and homologation department will provide you the edge-band samples suitable for the melamine you require.

Within the matching process of our PVC edges for a particular melamine we consider :

First , let us explain briefly the manufacturing process. Although not totally exact, this will suffice the objective of this resume.

The manufacturing of calendar PVC is basically composed of:

Several chemical components in a solid state (including PVC resins), exposed to high temperatures are melted, mixed, and by means of a DIE (nozzle) and rollers ( cylinders), a sheet (to the desired thickness and width) is formed.

If the sheet simulates a wood design, the exterior surface is printed by means of printing rollers (cylinders ), imitating the desired wood grain (different types of rollers (cylinders) to simulate different wood grains are available, several can be used at the same time.

If a embossing is needed, hot rollers (cylinders) are used for the purpose.

Afterwards, a primer (for adherence purpose) is applied to the base in order to enable proper bonding of the PVC sheet with the thermo-fused glues (hot-melts) used in edge-banding machines.

To ensure protection to the dye of the wood grain designs, a transparent varnish coating is applied to the edge-band.

Advantages of PVC edges compared to melamine edges:

Being a plastic it is flexible and easy to work with.

When applied flush to a board, being a plastic, it is easily trimmed and remains well adjusted to the board without splintering.

During the edging process and a defective item has to be re-edged, it is easily removed (simply pulling the edge to peel it off the board, making the use of heat, or tool, unnecessary for this purpose). Whereas, for other types of edges, heat has to be applied to the edge-band in order to soften the glue and afterwards gently pull the edge-band to unglue it (time consuming process).

During handling and storing operations of the finished product in a factory, from time to time the edges are banged. If the edges are of PVC, they won’t break, as the material will absorb impacts and will only slightly “cave in “.

This last characteristic also applies to furniture displayed in a shop or at home, (an effective sales argument for manufacturer and retail stores).

The standard thickness (0,4 mm) is superior to the thickness of melamine or paper edges, therefore efficiently covering a chipboard panel and concealing any imperfection.

By using PVC we can increase the thickness as required by the customer, thus conferring a sturdier aspect to the edged items and also concealing any hollow particles of the chipboard. This is impossible to accomplish with melamine edges.

The use of a good adhesive agent for PVC guarantees a perfect bonding of the edge to the board.

It will not react to humidity changes.

If the “base” of the PVC edge is well executed (with the adequate tone), when trimmed, the inner color of the edge will perfectly blend with the surface of the board, not featuring any difference in shade, which can occur with mono-coat edges.

Disadvantages of PVC edges compared to melamine edges:

When printing with rollers (cylinders) different to those used to manufacture the paper, the grains (veins) of PVC do not coincide with the ones on the surface, and therefore the aspect, although quite precise, will never be identical to the board. This by itself can create a problem, as, some customers believe that the copy on PVC will be 100% identical to the board, being this most improbable.

Temperature fluctuations affect negatively PVC: in cold weather it hardens (which can cause splintering and profile deformation, in hot weather it softens ( which can cause marks of the chipboard). Nevertheless, the formulas employed confer a high degree of stability of this product against these temperature changes to permit a satisfactory edging process. Logically, if the customer’s premises are properly equipped, this problem will be nonexistent.

A faulty application of adhesive agent can cause severe bonding problems: if insufficient, it will not bond properly, if excessive, it can split : some of the glue will remain on the edge, while the rest will remain on the board.

From one production to another, there can be differences in color and gloss, mostly on limited productions, the same applies for melamine, the difference being that the paper production for melamine edges are much superior, thus limiting this problem.

It is inadequate for SOFT-FORMING. To apply the soft-forming, the machines will firstly apply the hot melt glue to the edge, if it is a PVC edge, this one will soften to the heat and its application will be most difficult.

For pre-glued edges, which are applied with an iron or hot air funnels, PVC edges are more delicates than melamine edges, due to its behavior to heat.

Finishes

Hot Melt Pre-Glued

A layer of hot melt glue can be applied to the base of the edge band.

This glue has a 180 degrees C. melting point.

Mainly used in edge-banding machines not fitted with glue dispenser and applicator.

Thus, with a basic hot air edge-banding machine, or with a plain domestic iron, the PVC pre-glued edgebanding can be adhered to the board.

The proportion of glue provided with the edge-band is 120 grs/m2.

This proportion being the adequate to ensure a flawless bonding, avoiding any excess of glue at the joint between the board and the edge-band, (glue line).

Our standard glue has a softening point at 85-90 degrees C.

PVC softens upon reaching 60 degrees C. Therefore extreme care has to be taken when reactivating the glue and avoiding damage to the PVC edge-band.

A low adherence protective plastic film can be placed over the surface of our edges.

Object of this option :

To avoid staining the edge while varnishing the surface of a board (either by : spray, curtain or paint roller techniques). Once finished, the plastic film is removed from the edge revealing an immaculate finish.

To offer extra protection to the edge, when dealing with delicate surfaces like high gloss surfaces (90 gloss).

The plastic covers the whole edge .

For special application purposes ( problems while profiling the edge on the edge-banding machine ), we can apply the protecting film only on the central portion of the edge-band, (centered protector).